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NRA has too much influence

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Apr 4, 2013

Excerpt from the Chicago Sun-Times:

Don’t look now, but the U.S. Senate might actually pass legislation that has a chance to significantly reduce gun violence. Some advocates of stronger gun laws were discouraged recently when the Senate dropped provisions to ban assault weapons and highcapacity ammunition magazines from legislation that will be considered starting next week.

But what remains — a bill that would expand background checks when guns are purchased and stiffen penalties for straw purchases — is perhaps the single measure that could do most to tamp down the shootings in America’s neighborhoods. Mass shootings with assault weapons are awful when they occur, but over the course of a year, as we in Chicago know too well, far more Americans are killed by handguns.

We need universal background checks, because we need to stop making it easy for criminals to buy guns. Virtually all firearms start out as legal, but gaps in our laws allow guns to flow from legal to illegal hands. Under the “gun show loophole,” no record keeping is required in private gun sales, which now account for two out of every five firearms transactions. A “straw purchaser,” someone with valid credentials who buys guns for those who can’t legally purchase them, can easily operate in the nether region where no records exist.

That’s a huge loophole, and truckloads of guns are driven right through it.

The NRA opposes universal background checks. It helped push through a measure that prohibits the FBI from hanging on for longer than 24 hours to records of those who pass the existing background check system. That makes it hard to spot a pattern of straw purchases. Lawmakers should not be swayed by the NRA on this issue.

Comments

Bluto

Sun, 04/07/2013 - 3:45pm

I agree that laws should be tougher , but not all the guns out there that criminals are using are stolen . If they were then we have a serious problem with gun owners securing their weapons . Most guns criminals are using are coming from private sales or gun shows where no one is checking these people's backgrounds . Once the gun falls out of the current system where it ends up is anybodies guess . With such easy accessibility to weapons why would a criminal risk stealing from an armed person when they can buy one , no questions asked , then go about robbing or killing . Besides , these people who commit mass shootings never intend to steal , just kill as many as possible .

chevygirl2004

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 1:06pm

agree with coasterfan!

goofus

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 2:39pm

By being blind by your beliefs is really an invalid conclusion. You believe it's not the intent of the government to confiscate weapons. The problem results in the fact that this is a gut feeling due in part to your liberalism and strangely deviant obedience to the master of nothing, Obozo. You're right, I abhor the man. He is a very ineffective president with the propensity to lie through his teeth. The left had a full vetting of GW to the extent that all his school records were publicized down to his grades in junior high. Has your savior the anointed one made anything public, so far only a questionable birth certificate with even his voting records in Illinois being sealed. I can't and will not believe a word out of his two sided mouth. With the man's propensity for the executive order, even Congress is irrelevant.

OSUBuckeye59

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 7:36pm

The NRA is so proud. They have you doing exactly what they intend for you to do: react to the fear. With the exception of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration has been more like its predecessor administration, but the NRA keeps the fear machine well-oiled and running on all gears. One simple question: Where is the evidence of any executive orders or legislation the Obama administration has pushed through since Obama took office that has changed our current federal gun laws? Fact is, there isn't any evidence. But just as Donald Trump and others relentlessly beat the "Obama isn't a US Citizen!" dead horse, so too will the NRA keep beating the "He's going to take all of our guns away!" dead horse. In private, gun and ammunition manufacturers are thanking their lucky stars Obama was re-elected. He's been one of their best marketing tools.

It's all very simple: fear sells. Always has. Always will.

goofus

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 11:46pm

Once again the liberal brain professes to not only know everything but also what you are thinking. Such spineless elitists. My facts and feelings come from many resources and certainly not the NRA but from observations about this sitting president or should I say the sequester jester. Every sitting president has vetted more about their lives than Obozo and we shall see very soon how ineffective he is. I don't trust any government, I want to really left alone but I find more state's rights is better than more intrusive federal government

goofus

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 11:48pm

Also Texas scored a firearms manufacturer from Connecticut,and Beretta is thinking about bolting from Maryland

OSUBuckeye59

Tue, 04/09/2013 - 1:03am

Arguments are believable when supported by traceable, real facts and figures. But in the absence of real facts, arguments become nothing more than the ramblings of individuals caught up in conspiracy fantasies. In the past, these ramblings never saw the light of day. But today, anybody with a computer/tablet/smartphone can now post their inane thoughts. Where once the phrase was, "'Tis better to remain silent and thought a fool then open your mouth and remove all doubt", with the internet the phrase is now, "'Tis better to not post and be thought a fool than submit an online posting and remove all doubt."

goofus

Tue, 04/09/2013 - 4:01pm

But today, anybody with a computer/tablet/smartphone can now post their inane thoughts. Where once the phrase was, "'Tis better to remain silent and thought a fool then open your mouth and remove all doubt", with the internet the phrase is now, "'Tis better to not post and be thought a fool than submit an online posting and remove all doubt."

From your mouth to your ears,Liberal elitist foolish person From OSUBuckeye the master of the inane comment. Why does he always think the liberal way is the best.